Abstract: Urban public park, an important type of public space, is an integral part of a city as a whole. Historical public parks were the basis for the emergence of modern urban parks, and the early urban public parks experienced a long process of germination and development. This research analyzes the sources of the prototype of urban parks through specific instances and summarizes them into three categories, which are the private parks open to the public, the transformation of urban public space and the urban parks directly designed and constructed by individuals in a city. It analyzes the emergence of urban parks and their driving forces, including the promotion of the enlightenment and democracy, air pollution and the deterioration of the living environment, the policy impact of legislative acts, the advocacy of scholars and the promotion of theoretical researches. Finally, it explains the development of urban parks. From the perspective of “publicity”, the article reviews the process of the emergence and development of western urban parks. With the gradual opening of the gardens, it no longer only serves a small number of powerful classes, but gradually faces the general public, taking into account the interests of everyone, and demonstrating the fairness and progress of society.